mood

plural moods

1. A mental or emotional state, composure.

   I've been in a bad mood since I was dumped by my ex-boyfriend.

   2 more examples

   Nor these alone, but every landscape fair, / As fit for every mood of mind, / Or gay, or grave, or sweet, or stern, was there / Not less than truth design'd.

   1842, Alfred Tennyson, “The Palace of Art”, in Poems. […], volume I, London: Edward Moxon, […], →OCLC, page 142

   I envy not in any moods ⁠The captive void of noble rage, ⁠The linnet born within the cage, That never knew the summer woods: […]

   1850, [Alfred, Lord Tennyson], “Canto XXVII”, in In Memoriam, London: Edward Moxon, […], →OCLC, page 44

   Synonyms: composure, humor, spirit, temperament

2. Emotional character (of a work of music, literature, or other art).

   Whatever the mood of her music, funky or romantic, upbeat or blue, sophisticated or simple, her fans get the message. And as long as the word comes from Natalie, they adore it, turning every one of her albums to gold or platinum.

   1979, Judith Glassman, The Year in Music, 1979, →ISBN

3. A sullen, gloomy or angry mental state; a bad mood.

   He's in a mood with me today.

   3 more examples

   He was beginning to forget his burdening, despairing mood of a short while ago.

   1964, Philip K. Dick, “FOUR”, in Clans of the Alphane Moon, United States: Ace Books, →OCLC; republished London: HarperCollinsPublishers, 1996, →ISBN, page 39

   Rath was clearly in a mood, and only Jay could fix that. They found Carver first. Rath was even less amused to see Carver in the drill room than he had been to find Duster. He grabbed Carver with his free hand, and dragged him out.

   2010, Michelle West, City of Night: A Novel of the House War, Penguin, →ISBN

   Joel was obviously in a mood, and if he was going to start yelling, Alex would rather be alone. “What did I do this time?” “It's more what you didn't do, idiot.”

   2018, Catherine Lievens, Beacon in the Darkness, eXtasy Books, →ISBN, page 93

   Synonyms: huff, pet, temper · Antonyms: good humour, good mood, good spirits

4. A disposition to do something, a state of mind receptive or disposed to do something.

   I'm not in the mood for running today.

   2 more examples

   Paul: Shield practice? Gurney, we had shield practice this morning. I'm not in the mood. Gurney: Not in the mood? Mood's a thing for cattle and loveplay, not fighting.

   1984, David Lynch, 13:10 from the start, in Dune (Science Fiction), →OCLC

   "The Placer SPCA brings by some kittens and puppies, and I do my best to get everyone tipsy and in a donating mood."

   2018, Rebecca Chastain, A Fistful of Frost, Mind Your Muse Books, →ISBN

   Synonyms: huff, frame of mind

5. A prevalent atmosphere, attitude, or feeling.

   A good politician senses the mood of the crowd.

   3 more examples

   A novel that catches the mood of prewar Berlin.

   This was the mood that led him to deny to Mainstream, the successor to the New Masses , permission to reprint “Reading, Writing, and the Rackets.” This was the mood that, when he was invited to a meeting to draft a letter of protest […]

   1994, Kenneth Fearing, Complete Poems, page xxvi

   By the early 1970s, more than 50,000 American deaths and the accompanying failed foreign-policy objectives had changed the country's mood.

   2010, Richard J. Murnane, John B. Willett, Methods Matter, Oxford University Press, →ISBN, page 8

   Synonyms: vibe

6. slangA familiar, relatable feeling, experience, or thing.

   To borrow an idiom from the extremely online, late Godard is a mood.

   2019, A.O. Scott, “'The Image Book' Review: Godard Looks at Violence, and Movies”, in The New York Times

   4 more examples

   “I'm only here for a night. I'm road tripping with a friend and he decided we needed a queer bar, stat.” “Oh, that's a whole mood.”

   2019, Kris Ripper, Runaway Road Trip: (A Definitely-Not-Romantic Adventure)

   […] For academics, not being familiar with new phrases that your students cofindently wield is a whole mood. […]

   2020, Birgit Breidenbach, Aesthetic and Philosophical Reflections on Mood: Stimmung and Modernity, Routledge, →ISBN

   He'd drawn a variety of designs on the white rubber toes. “Nice shoes,” I said. “Likewise,” he said, glancing down at my rockabilly-red peep toe pumps. “Those kicks are a whole-ass mood.” Whether Steven liked them on me or might like to […]

   2020, Cynthia St. Aubin, Love Bites, Oliver-Heber Books

   I think I can speak for us all when I say this tee is a MOOD. So yeah, anyways, I'm gonna need 10 of these—TYVM.

   2024 October 8, Megan Uy, Tarah-Lynn Saint-Elien, “65+ Fall Prime Day Fashion Deals Your Closet Is Begging You to Shop”, in Cosmopolitan

   Synonyms: big mood

1. slangUsed to express that the speaker finds something very relatable.

   ⁠—I am feeling very exhausted today. ⁠—Mood.

   4 more examples

   I mean, mood. Courteney Cox showing Kimmel her completely empty pantry over Zoom while explaining that her family is snacking more than usual is relatable content.

   2020 April 22, Julia Alexander, “The joy of spying on celebrity homes over Zoom and Instagram Live”, in The Verge

   Joon posted a video with a stray cat with the caption 'V's tweet was like #mood'.

   2021 June 2, “BTS' Butter makes Billboard history, debuts at number 1 on Hot 100 chart”, in Pinkvilla, archived from the original on 03 Dec 2022

   You can't just say Mood and post random unrelated shit!

   2022 January 15, Smrutisnat Jena, “10 Times Bollywood Celebrities Posted Something On Instagram & Desi Internet Just Went 'Hain?'”, in ScoopWhoop

   I mean…MOOD!

   2022 June 7, Gretty Garcia, “Princess Charlotte Adorably Corrected Prince George's Posture at the Jubilee Pageant”, in Cosmopolitan

   Synonyms: big mood

plural moods

1. grammarA verb form that depends on how its containing clause relates to the speaker’s or writer’s wish, intent, or assertion about reality.

   The mood most frequently encountered in English is the indicative, of which the mood in this sentence is an example.

   1 more example

   The grammatical category of mood makes it possible for speakers to signal their attitude to what they are saying, in particular to indicate whether what they are saying is to be understood as a fact, a possibility or a command. The different moods of the verb are shown by special endings or forms. German has three moods: […]

   2011, Martin Durrell, A. E. Hammer, Hammer's German Grammar and Usage, 5th edition, London: Hodder Education, →ISBN

   Synonyms: grammatical mood, mode